Aldridge went into administration with Grant Thornton on 15 June and was sold to Blue Printing Company in a pre-pack deal the following day.

Harlow-based Blue has gone from a turnover of around £6.3m, in the year to 31 May 2009, to an estimated £21m after its acquisition of Aldridge. Aldridge’s last audited turnover was £7.7m for the year to 31 August 2009.

Furthermore, Blue director Eric Anstee said the addition of Aldridge’s Mitcham site would allow the company to grow much bigger.

"The most important thing now is that we have sites north and south of London," he said. "With the three facilities there is the potential there to increase turnover to £40m-£50m and it is our intention to become one of the biggest printers in the UK."

However, an industry source questioned the feasibility of Blue’s turnover target and projected revenues for the current year. "It would be interesting to know what they’re basing that £21m on, because I wouldn’t be surprised if Aldridge had lost a fair bit of business since its last accounts.

"Also, if you look at what tends to happen in pre-pack sales, you very rarely retain 100% of the customer base, so even if Aldridge hadn’t lost that much business in the run-up to the administration, you’re still going to lose a chunk as a result of the insolvency."